The Return Of The Raunchy Parody; A Blu-Ray Review Of ‘A Haunted House’; Available From Universal April 23

While I have always been a fan of the early raunchy parodies done by the Wayans’ such as ‘Scary Movie’ and ‘Don’t Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood’ the majority of the parody films released in recent memory are anything but memorable. So much so in fact that I have pretty much forced myself not to watch any of them including recent entries in the ‘Scary Movie’ franchise which went horribly downhill following the departure of the Wayans’ and the resulting formula change implemented in the series as a result. Well rest assured fans such as myself, ‘A Haunted House’ is a return back to the quality (as far as the term quality can be applied to such films as these) raunchy and R-Rated spoofs. If you are a fan of the original ‘Scary Movie’ and similar titles, this one should be right up your alley.

In recent years I have made it a point to avoid parody films like the plague, they have become tired and ridiculous (which is saying something in the case of films in this genre), but when I heard that Marlon Wayans was involved with a new spoof taking on the paranormal and found footage trend that has been all the hype lately, and the film was announced as R-Rated and appeared to feature many of the elements that I truly loved about films such as the original ‘Scary Movie’ I was sold. This was going to be one I checked out. I must say, I wasn’t disappointed. The film is dirty, hilarious and features a nice group of guest stars that really get things going in the silliest possible way. I found myself laughing for the majority of the 90 minute runtime and will admit I will definitely be re-watching this one a few times in the near future.

The video on the Blu-Ray release of ‘A Haunted House’ is a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. While some elements look mildly worn and blurry at times, rest assured it is not the fault of the production on the disc, and actually is a beneficial element that truly helps keep the film’s tone as it should be and helps in utilizing the found footage feel. The video presentation is top notch and leaves nothing to be desired in a film such as this.

The audio on the Blu-ray is a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio track and it such as the video is quite well done. While many areas of the film seem to keep more focused on the dialogue occurring in the center channel, there are some moments where things go flying around the room and so forth that really give a nice amount of attention to the rear channels. Dialogue, music and all elements of the film’s soundtrack are nice and clear.

The one area of the release that is a bit light is the Special Features section of the disc. Only two special features are present, and while one is merely previews, the one notable special feature on the release is a featurette titled ‘How to Survive a Paranormal Presence’.

For fans of the raunchy 90s parodies from the Wayans’ this is one of the few of these films in recent memory you are going to want to check out. It keeps the laughs flowing and should keep you entertained. While I have only watched the film once so far, I’m pretty certain this is a title that will do quite well in repeat viewing department as well.

‘A Haunted House’ will be released on April 23 from Universal and the Blu-Ray Combo Pack includes Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy + Ultraviolet.